Michael Tree is the CEO and General Manager of the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District, more commonly known as Metro. He came to Santa Cruz Metro in April of 2022 after more than 27 years of experience in public transportation and city management, most recently as executive director of the Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority in Livermore, California. While executive director of LAVTA, Tree also served as the executive director for the Tri-Valley – San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority, a new rail authority created by the state of California to plan and deliver a 42-mile, 7-station commuter rail project.
While with LAVTA, Michael Tree was named Transit Manager of the Year by both the California Association for Coordinated Transportation and the California Transit Association, and in 2020 LAVTA was named the North American Transit Agency of the Year in its category by the American Public Transportation Association.
